Four Things to do Before College

With fall semester right around the corner for the college freshman, there are a few things they, or the returning veteran should do before going back to school. Needless to say this is not your run of the mill get everything you need from Target sale, it’s an honest insight from a recent college grad. (Bastards still haven’t sent me the diploma yet.)

1.) Pick up a copy of Aaron Clarey’s Worthless I cannot stress the importance of this book enough on this blog in regards to a college education. This book alone can help you stay away from degrees that have no place in a 16 thousand dollar or more a year institution. For those of us who do go to college, possibly making the biggest financial decision of your life at the ripe young age of 18, it would be foolish to go for a degree unable to pay itself back plus some. This book helped me switch from an ethics and public policy major to getting a degree in computer science and when I tried lending it to some of my English major friends they wouldn’t even look at it. Truth hurts.

2.) Pick up a copy of a James Altucher’s 40 Alternatives to College Once you’ve dived into the material inside Worthless, you’re thinking what now right? Besides going to college for a non worthless degree, Altucher offers a myriad of different things you can do besides going to college. In my experience, academia killed me. In the four years I spent at a Big 10 university I lost my interest in a topic that was once fascinating to me and is only starting to come back to me since I’ve begun working independently again. Go try out something new and interesting for free or a fraction of the cost instead of digging yourself a hole filled with debt.

3.) If you think you know what you want to do…go do it! Try your hand at an entry level position or at the very least try for an apprenticeship with somebody who already works in your desired field. You will learn infinitely more from a person who is performing the work compared to someone who teaches it. Hands on experience will trump schooling of any kind, every time.

4.) If you don’t know what you want to do… Then why are you going? Seriously, why are you going? If you want a “college experience” move to a college town, work some shitty part time job and party your ass off taking every kind of drug you can get your hands on. Take two years to fuck yourself up as humanly possible and take the next two years to try piece yourself back together for big time job interviews.

Now college can be a great place to be if you do it right, but this is the exception rather than the rule. I can guarantee you there aren’t enough jobs in the world for the amount of liberal arts majors there are. But if you do decide to go to college or to continue going to college, there is no reason to not read Christian McQueen’s and Hans Dix’ Campus Hustler to get the most out of your college experience without going on academic probation.